Global Automakers Group Issues Safety Warning on FCC Expansion of Upper Limits of U-NII-3 Band
The Association of Global Automakers (AGA) filed a paper at the FCC warning that if the agency moves forward on allowing the use of high-power, unlicensed U-NII devices in spectrum immediately adjacent to the 5.850-5.925 GHz band, it could make automotive safety technology there all but useless. “Global Automakers and others maintain that this issue has not been adequately studied by the FCC,” AGA said in reply comments filed at the FCC, posted Wednesday in docket 13-49. “Oppositions to Global Automakers’ Petition do not prove otherwise.”
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The auto industry has longstanding plans to use the spectrum for dedicated short-range communications (DSRC) systems designed to help drivers avoid accidents (CD Jan 16/13 p1). In February, following extensive testing, the U.S. Department of Transportation said it was moving forward on vehicle-to-vehicle warning systems as “the next generation of auto safety improvements (http://1.usa.gov/1bkqG1L). In a May petition, AGA sought lab tests and additional studies before the FCC opens the spectrum for unlicensed use (http://bit.ly/1nWKyxg).
AGA submitted with the filing a study it commissioned by the AdGen Telecom Group. The study shows that “as few as three outdoor U-NII devices could cause serious, harmful interference to nearby DSRC operations, effectively disabling a car’s DSRC-based safety systems,” AGA said.
AGA reminded the FCC that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration sought comment in an Aug. 14 advanced NPRM (http://1.usa.gov/1BbSOm7) on the impact of spectrum used by U-NII devices on vehicle-to-vehicle communications systems. The FCC should not take further action before NHTSA wraps up its rulemaking, AGA said: “NHTSA understands that what is at stake here is far more important than the prospective commercial interests of U-NII device and chipset manufacturers.”
The Wireless Internet Service Providers Association earlier urged the FCC to reject AGA’s petition. The FCC “correctly determined” that licensed operations in the 5850-5925 MHz band “will be unaffected by adding 25 MHz to the upper edge of the U-NII-3 band,” WISPA said at the time (http://bit.ly/1vRBrHX).
In other filings on 5 GHz spectrum, several commenters fired back at Cisco. It argued in a filing last month the FCC should reject petitions from wireless ISPs seeking looser restrictions on operations in the 5 GHz U-NII-1 and U-NII-3 bands (http://bit.ly/VmVRbf). Those replies were also filed in 13-49.
The FCC sought comment in July on seven petitions for reconsideration of a March 31 order that opens up the 5.1 GHz band for Wi-Fi and other unlicensed use (http://fcc.us/XffL9d). The order also harmonizes rules for this new U-NII-1 band with rules for the U-NII-3 band. Cambium Networks, JAB Wireless and WISPA asked the FCC to rethink the strict out-of-band emissions (OOBE) limits in the higher-powered 5.8 GHz region of the band (http://bit.ly/WNa5U2).
WISPA said the Cisco comments were a “misguided and dismissive assault on the WISP industry.” WISPA said (http://bit.ly/1BbTXtJ) that “more than 100 WISPs pointed out the ‘devastating,’ ‘detrimental’ and ‘entirely unnecessary’ consequences of the new OOBE restrictions.” Cambium Networks said the restrictions would make 5.8 GHz long-range equipment “significantly more expensive for Cambium and other manufacturers to produce” as well as “significantly more expensive” for WISPs to deploy (http://bit.ly/1lIm0xF).
Constraining out of band emissions in the 5750-5825 MHz band “was a difficult decision” for the FCC, said Mary Brown, Cisco director-spectrum policy. “But based on an extensive collection of enforcement cases, the FCC reasoned that applying a consistent out of band emission rule from 5470 MHz up to 5850 MHz would be a simpler, easier to follow approach for industry and protect incumbent radar services.” Brown noted that Federal Aviation Administration weather radars “were victims of interference caused by users manipulating U-NII-3 devices into the U-NII-2 band. The FCC’s reasoning here is sound.”